Ten fun facts about Ankara

Fact 1The Angora goat, which originated in Ankara, were on the back side of the Turkish 50 banknotes in 1938-1952.

Fact 2The Ankara region is also home to one of the ancient, natural cat breeds called 'Turkish Angora', which have been documented as early as the 1600's.

Fact 386 years ago, in 1927, Ankara had a population of only 75,000. As of 2013, the population was 5,045,083.

Fact 4In 1073, the city was first known as 'Angora'. It wasn't until 1930 that the official renaming of 'Ankara' came under the Turkish Postal Service Law.

Fact 5Though the city homes a very low crime rate in comparison to other cities in Turkey and Europe, road safety is still an issue.

Fact 6The city is said to have existed during the Bronze Age and belonged to the Hattic civilization, but according to Phygrian tradition, King Midas founded the city as 'Ancyra'.

Fact 7Because the city grew so fast in the 1950's, many people had to move into the city for a better living situation, causing many illegal houses to be built called 'gecekondu'.

Fact 8The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, located in Ankara, holds works dated back as far as the second half of the first millenium BC. In 1997, Switzerland elected it as the first 'European Museum of the Year'.

Fact 9The oldest mosque in Ankara, the Alaeddin Mosque, dates back to AH 574 or 1178 AD, built by a prince of an Anatolian Seljuk Sultan during his reign.

Fact 10The largest urban ropeway on the Eurasian continent in 2014, with a 10 passenger gondola lift.